


Emma and the Shirt from Hell

by brokencrown



Series: Tom & Emma [3]
Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: Actors, Celebrity Crush, Crushes, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 02:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4246383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokencrown/pseuds/brokencrown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma turns up to the restaurant for their first date and Tom is wearing a partially unbuttoned button down that makes her want to fly into the sun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Emma and the Shirt from Hell

Emma walked into the restaurant feeling extremely out of place. When Tom sent her the address she googled it and her heart started pounding when she saw how upscale the restaurant was. She debated between two dresses for hours and felt like neither were perfectly appropriate. _He is going to see me and know he made a mistake even asking me to go into a public place with him._ Speaking of him asking her to go into a public place with him, why? She often thought about where they stood in their...relationship. Even using that word to describe the two of them made her heart skip a beat. When she first met him two days ago, she never imagined she would be walking into a restaurant to meet him for dinner.

"Are you Emma?" a hostess asked. 

"Yes," she replied as she stood there awkwardly craning her neck to find Tom.

"Follow me, please." Emma followed her up the stairs and to a private balcony that overlooked most of London. It was breathtaking. Tom stood as he saw her approaching and the hostess left them alone. 

"You look astonishing, Emma." He was wearing a white button down shirt that he had left partially unbuttoned, just enough to tease her, and jeans. He looked...well, she couldn't take her eyes off him. 

"Thank you. You look..." she hesitated, trying to find the right words without being incredibly inappropriate. He grinned.

"Thank you." After an awkward silence filled with them smiling at each other they realized they were both still standing. Tom pulled out her chair for her and took his own seat. _A gentleman._ He sat across from her in silence for a bit before he finally spoke again. "I picked this place because it has a spectacular view, but I'm not sure how much I'll be looking at it with you in front of me."

_Oh dear._

"The view is wonderful," she said, trying to change the subject. She was never good at taking compliments. Her eyes shifted to his chest and flicked back up to meet his blue eyes. She had been caught. "Why did you have to wear such a distracting ensemble?" He laughed harder than she had seen him laugh. She loved his laugh. 

"Maybe next time I'll just cook you a meal in my flat and we'll rely on each other for ambiance," he said with a smile.

"Next time?"

"Have I spoken too soon?" He looked confused. Emma wasn't sure what **this** even was, but she could tell that her feelings were already getting out of hand. Everything was moving so quickly and she had no idea how he felt or what he meant by asking her to this restaurant. Was he simply wanting to speak as fellow actors? Was this a date? Did he think they were just becoming great mates? She felt it was too soon to ask and have that painful 'what are we' conversation.

"No. I hope there is a next time."

"I don't know why there wouldn't be. Unless, of course, you no longer desire my company." She couldn't imagine not desiring his company. Not at this point and not with him in that shirt. "Emma?"

"Yeah."

"You're staring again," he said. His smile was infectious and she caught it.

"Sorry. Never wear that around me again ever. Unless you want me to rip it off you." _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Jesus Christ, Emma._  Tom cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. 

"Maybe...maybe don't say those kinds of things when we're in public." At first, she wasn't sure if he was cross or not, but the playful look he gave her suggested otherwise. 

"Sorry."

"Don't be."

They were brought their first course and began to eat to fill the awkward pause. After Emma finished her salad, she decided she was ready to ask questions.

"What is happening here?"

"Well, we're eating--"

"No," she shook her head with a smile. "I mean, what is happening between the two of us?" Tom put his fork down and stared into what felt like her soul but was probably just her eyes.

"I don't know." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, unsure how to respond. "I only know a few things. I'm intrigued by you, am incredibly attracted to you and want to know you better."

She couldn't deny that they had a connection regardless of how strange it was. Their conversations went from awkward to unbelievably comfortable within seconds. Sometimes she felt like she had known him her whole life and other times she felt like she didn't know him at all. She wondered if she should just stop questioning it and go with whatever was happening. It was too late to go back now, whatever this was...was. She had to accept it.

"Fair enough."

"I would like to know what you're thinking," he replied coyly. 

"I'm just...not sure where this came from. I don't understand it."

"Some things aren't meant to be understood, only felt. That's a quote I read the other day."

"Well, I'm feeling a lot of things right now," she said.

"Like?" Her eyes shifted to his chest again. She couldn't help it. "I see."

"No, I..." She buried her face in her hands, completely embarrassed. He leaned forward and grabbed her hands. 

"I promise, it's fine," he said. His voice was so soothing. "Trust me, it's all I can do to stop from staring at you inappropriately."

"What is wrong with us?"

"I don't know," he said with a smile, shaking his head. "I wish I knew."

They finished their meal exchanging stories and facts about themselves, laughing over their pasts. Emma found him to be so eloquent and passionate. The more they learned about each other, the more they wanted to know. Tom glanced at his phone and realized three and a half hours had passed. 

"My goodness"

"What?"

"We've been here for quite some time," he replied.

"Have we?" She thought they had been there for an hour at most, but when she looked at her phone and saw the time she was taken aback. 

"I don't want this to end."

"Does it have to?" The last thing she wanted was for this to be over. She was just becoming familiar with him and was finally comfortable just being herself around him. Tom sat across from her deep in thought. She could tell he had an idea but was hesitant to put it out there. "What are you thinking?"

"Why don't you...come to my flat..."

 _Uh oh._ This was already a disaster in the making and he just had to be wearing that fucking shirt. 

"Will you change shirts?"

"Absolutely."

"Deal."

 

**to be continued...**

 


End file.
